Luggage case



J. SLAN LUGGAGE CASE Nov. 22, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Feb. 5, 1965 INVENTOR. JACK S LAN lullllnlllllll.\

All. LA

Nov. 22, 1966 J. sLAN 3,286,800

LUGGAGE CASE Filed Feb. 5, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F G. 5 IFI I N VENTOR. JACK S LAN Attorney United States Patent O 3,286,800 LUGGAGE CASE Jack Slan, 65 Densley Ave., Toronto, Ontario, Canada Filed Feb. 5, 1965, Ser. No. 437,343 5 Claims. (Cl. 190-49) rDhis application .is a continuation in part ci my copending application, Serial Number 241,580, tiled December 3, 1962, and now abandoned.

FIlhis invention relates to improvements in luggage cases .and fthe principal object of the invention is to provide an improved closing action ytor such cases.

Another important object is to provide a case having such improved closing action which can Ibe easily fabricated and .assembled making for very economical manufacture.

In particu-lar, it is an object .to provide a case as aforesaid which will be self-adjusting on closure to ensure that the intertting parts of the opposing case sections automatically are :properly relatively aligned on closure to provide a tight seal `around the case to preclude the entry of `dust.

Another important object is to provide such lan improved closing action wlherein the interiitting :parts will not be subject to deformation in use to prevent subsequent proper closure, a serious inherent problem in present lcases having parts which interit on closure.

Still another important object is to provide a case as aforesaid which will be Iboth .light and extremely strong. In connection, it is .a further object -to provide yan interlocking closure, the interrtting parts of which on interlocking will be self-bracing :to enable the case to withstand extreme pressure in this 'critical area,

Still another importa-nt object is to provide a closure action 4as aforesaid which will at the same time, preclude the cutting of clothing -caught in the closure eliminating .another serions drawback of presen-t tightly closing cases.

Still another important object is `to provide a case as aforesaid which can be manufactured in different sizes by the interchange of a very simple inexpensive frame member.

Again, it is an object to provide a case as aforesaid of attractive appearance without requiring the use of trim of complicated cross-section.

A fea-ture of the invention presently resides in providing interftting case closure parts comprising one rigid part carried by one of the opposing case sections and a 4meting part carried by .the other opposing case section, the llatter part having a measure of compressibility, the rigid part having lmeans to guide the part having a measure of comipressibi-lity into place in a self-.adjusting action land to apply pressure Ito same to provide a positive sealed juncture around the case.

According to one embodiment of the invention the part having a measure oct compressibility comprises a cantilever tongue member having a compressible cover, and the rigid part comprises a channel member to receive the tongue.

According -to another embodiment of the invention the part having .a measure of compressibility comprises a unitary tongue member mounted in la cantilever manner. This tongue member is flexible Iand of any suitable plastic material and has a self-seating action in cooper- "ice ation with its respective channel member. But when engaged therewith, the tongue is so supported that it is substantially rigid.

Further, according Ito the invention each section of lthe case Icomprises a moulded panel connected at its perimeter to a frame member of simple riorm extending around its periphery, the size or depth of the case being varied simply by varying the width of the -iirame member. In -this connection, :ano-ther important feature resides in connecting the tongue t-o the frame mernbe'r by a locating strip which interlocks with the fra-me member and a tongue to ensure that the tongue is .always correctly positioned relative to the :fra-me member regardless ot its width.

According to one torni of the invention the trame of each section and the tongue are formed as simple plywood sections, land trim strips of -simple cross-section are provided to hide the raw edges 4of the plywood frame and a layer Iof compressible material is Iapplied to the tongue to hide the raw plywood edges ott the tongue while at the same .time providing for the self-'sealing interlock, the arrangement enabling the economical use of relatively roughly finished plywood which provides great inherent strength.

A lfurther feature 4of :the present invention resides in an alternative embodiment of the invention. Heretofore suitcase construction has employed either two concave shells which engage, or two concave shells provided with engaging bands or strips on their opposed engaging edges. In these latter structures, the engagement is effected between the opposed edges of the bands.

In suitcases employing only concave shells it has been conventional to add a single decorative trim strip which has lno structural 'function In those suitcases of the second type, with the engaging inner bands, it has been customary to employ two trim strips or 'a double trim strip which are or is secured by two series of stitches, one Series securing one trim strip to :the 4concave shell land the second series to the engaging band.

Quite lapart from providing an expensive .construction the use of double trim strips 4has given the luggage a heavy squat appearance and there is very little room tor design change.

ln the alternate embodiment now provided there is a suitcase including essentially -two concave shells each having an engaging band. These bands yare secured Iby means of a novel trim strip having an exposed outer portion secured to the adjacent band and the adjacent shell section and an inner portion secured to the inner band. The inner portion is concealed under Ia iinish strip so that `rivets and the inner securing means will be hidden trom view.

FIlhese .and yother objects and :features will become apparent from the A.following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of la luggage case embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged transverse section on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but broken away and illustrating `the cross-section of a larger case, and also showing the guiding of the tongue from the dotted line position to the solid line position seated in the channel member;

showing a slightly modified channel strip;

FIG. 5 is a partial enlarged view of an alternative embodiment of the structure illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a section taken along line 6 6 of Fig. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a part of an alternate tongue member in accordance with the present invention.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the case generally designated at 1 comprises two opposed sections 2 hinged together at 3 to swing between case open and case closed positions.

Each of the sections 2 comprises a moulded shell 4 secured to a frame 5 or 6 which extends around the periphery of the shell. Conveniently, the frames 5 and 6 may be formed of suitable plywood which is extremely strong and readily formable.

The confronting edges of the frames 5 and 6 and indicated at 7 and 8 are provided with intertting means in the form of a tongue formation 9 and a channel formation 10. The tongue formation 9 is preferably formed with a plywood core 11 which is anchored to the frame 5 by means of a plywood strip 12 of rectangular crossseciton which seats in a groove 13 formed by rabbetting the inner side of the frame 5 and in a corresponding groove 14 formed by rabbetting the tongue core 11. The edge 7 of the frame 5 is cu-rved as at 15 and the edge 16 of the tongue core 11 is curved as at 17 to provide for the storage of glue in the gluing of the tongue core 11, strip 12, and frame 5, together. The shoulders 18 and 19 of the grooves 13 and 14 engage with the rectangular crosssection strip 12 to accurately locate the tongue core 11 relative to the frame 5 regardless of the width of the frame.

The tongue core 11 is covered with a suitable covering 20 which may be a plastic or the like which has a measure of compressibility and which hides the raw edges of the plywood core 11. The leading edge 21 of the tongue formation 9 is of reduced cross-section and is adapted to fit into the channel formation which narrows inwardly of its mouth through the curve formation designated at 22.

It will be understood that the tongue formation 9 is supported as a cantilever and will have a certain measure of resiliency and with the curved leading edge 21 of the tongue and the curved formati-on 22 of the channel coacting, any misalgnment of these interftting parts as the case is brought to the closed position will automatically be compensated for and the tongue will be guided, for instance, from the dotted line position of FIG. 3 into the solid line interlocked position of the same figure. When interlocked a dowel effect is achieved between the tongue 9 and channel 10' and the tongue is locked against movement inwardly or outwardly of the case.

In addition, by virtue of the covering 20, the tongue will have a measure of compressibility and as show'n in FIG. 2 in the closed position, the tongue covering portion in the channel formation 10 will be compressed to provide a positive dust-proof seal around the case. Thus the tongue and channel formations provide a self-adjusting positively sealing dowel interlock formation. Moreover, because of the compressibility of the tongue covering 20, the parts will not provide any shear action to catch and cut clothing caught between the tongue and channel formation in the closing operation.

While the tongue 9 has been particularly described as comprising a core of plywood 11 covered by a compressible plastic, it will be appreciated that the core may be of metal or another suitable rigid material and the plastic or compressible material 20 may cover all or part of such core as required to provide the closure seal above described.

To enhance the appearance of the case and to cover the raw edge of the frames 5 and 6, the confronting edges 7 and 8 of each 0f the frames is covered by a trim strip 23 which extends around the case, the strip being of right-angular cross-section having an inwardly extending flange 24 and a laterally extending flange 25 overlying the outer face of the respective strip, the latter flange being provided with an undercut shoulder formation 26.

The moulded shells 4 are preferably covered with a suitable plastic covering 27 and are secured in suitable grooves 28 formed by rabbetting the outer surfaces 29 of the frames 5 and 6. Trim strips 30 overlie and conceal the joint between the shells 4 and the frames 5 and 6, and these strips 30 are provided with undercut shoulders 31 corresponding to the shoudlers 26 of the trim strips 23. The trim strips 23 and 30 and also preferably the channel formation 10 are formed of a suitable metallic material although it will be understood that plastic or other material may also be used, and these strips may be secured in place by suitable fasteners or rivets 33.

To conceal the rivets and to add to the finished appearance of the case, a suitable covering material 34 is disposed between the opposed pairs of strips 23 and 30, the covering material being supported by filler strips 35 and 36. The edges of the covering 34 extend into and are protected by the undercut shoulders 26 and 31.

As shown in FIG. 3, without change in the basic construction of the case, its size may be changed by simply altering the width of the frames 5 and 6. Thus, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the frame 6 is considerably wider than the frame 6, but otherwise the construction of the case is the same, so that the manufacture of cases in different sizes can be simply and easily accommodated.

With the simple construction of the channel formation 10 and the strips 23 and 30, no ditiicult bending operations are required and it will be understood that the case can be readily manufactured without any complicated equipment or diiculty in handling of the parts.

At a slight sacrifice to the ease of handling of the various strips, FIG. 4 shows an alternative form of arrangement wherein one of the trim strips 23 is combined with the channel formation 10 to produce the resulting strip 37. Otherwise the parts of the case are the same as those illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

To complete the case, the case is provided with suitable locks generally designated at 38, preferably such as described in my United States Patent No. 3,169,788, issued February 16, 1965, and with a suitable handle formation 39 and feet 40.

By placing the tongue formation 9 and the channel formation 10 at the inner side of the frames 5 and 6, the closing of the case provides a groove formation 41 running around the case and conveniently the hinges 3, locks 38, and handle mounting formation 42 may be mounted in an out-of-the-way position in the groove 41. Moreover, the inward projection of the tongue 9 and channel 10 forms a means of hiding and protecting the edges of the lining 43 which terminate at these members as seen in FIG. 2.

As `in the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4, the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 have a similar construction in that each of the sections 2 comprises a moulded shell 4 secured to a frame 5 or 6 which extends around the periphery of the shell. Conveniently, the frames 5 and 6 may be formed of suitable plywood which is ex-tremely strong and readily formable. The confronting edges of the Iframes 5 and 6 indicated at 7 and 8 are provided with intertting means in the form of a tongue formation 59 and a channel formation 10. The tongue formation 59 is preferably formed from a suitable plastic material such as polyvinyl chloride or the like and in this embodiment, comprises a main portion 60 which terminates at one end in a bulbous section 61 and which is secured at the remote end from the bulbous portion by means of a flange 62. The tongue formation 59 is, of course, a unitary element and at the junction of llange 62 and main portion A60 a bead 83 is provided. As

will be observed from FI'G. 6, bead 83 projects inwards towards its corresponding shell. It is to be noted that the bulbous portion 61 of the tongue formation 59 is of an enlarged cross-section with respect to the main portion l60 but reduced with respect to the channel formation which narrows inwardly of its mouth through the curve formation designated at 22.

It will be understood that the tongue formation 59 is supported as a cantilever and is flexible in its free state. The arcuate leading edge of `bulbous portion 61 of the tongue and the curved formation 22 of the -coacting channel so engage that if there is any misalignment of these intertting parts as .the .case is brought to the close position, it will automatically be compensated for and the tongue will be guided, for instance, from the dotted line position illustrated in FIG. 6 into the solid line interlocked position of that figure. When interlock is achievedl between the tongue 59 and the channel 10 the tongue is locked against movement inwardly or outwardly of the case. The resilient or flexible member 59 is thus held in a substantially rigid fashion about the entire periphery of the case. And provides a channel or groove corresponding to the groove formation `41 running around the entire case. Upon this groove or channel hinges 3, locks 38, and the handle mounting .formation 42 may be mounted in an out-of-the-way position in the groove 41. The provision of this flexible tongue member 59 facilitates the production of these suitcases in that the tongue member 59 accommodates the bends in the case structure and may be produced as a single continuous extrusion. It is to be noted that the bead structure 61 is not entirely necessary and in FIG. 7 an alternate form of the tongue member 59 is illustrated. It'is to be noted that there is a further advantage to the use of this plastic member quite apart 4from its self-seeking characteristic. When a case of this present construction is closed and there are parts of the contents such as clothing projecting from the casing, these clothes will not be cut and the case may be closed by virtue of the flexible characteristics of the tongue member 59, the stress which is normally exerted upon the case structure and in particular, the hinges when improperly closed is reduced and the risk of damage is consequently also reduced.

To enhance the appearance of the case and to cover the raw edges of frames 5 and 6, the confronting edges 7 and 8 are covered by trim strips such as 23 which extend around the case. These strips are of right angular cross-section having an inwardly extending flange 24 and a laterally extending flange 25 overlying the outer face of the respective frame, the latter flange is provided with an undercut shoulder formation 36. The moulded shells 4 are preferably covered with a suitable plastic covering 27 and overlie their adjacent frames 6 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 6. These frames such as 6 and the shell 4 are secured one to the other by means of two series of stitches 63 and 64. Stitches such as 63 secure the inner end of a trim strip I65 to the frame 6 and the stitches such as 64 secure the outer end of the trim strip 65, the plastic covering 27, the shell 4 and the frame 6 in the manner illustrated. The trim strip 65 extends all the way around the case and comprises an outer portion 67 which includes a pair of beads 68 and 69 defining a channel 70 through which the stitches 64 pass. Bead 67 is undercut as :at 71 on the inner surface thereof and from the inner surface of bead 67 an inwardly extending ilange 72 projects in the manner illustrated. It is this flange which is secured by stitches such as 63 to the frame 6. Over the inner flange 72 and the outer portion of `trim strip 23, a cover strip 74 is inserted so that its lateral edges engage with the undercut portion 26 on trim strip 23 and the undercut portion 71 on the bead 67. As shown in FIG. 6 a filler strip 75 may be secured between trim strip 74 and the adjacent outer surface of the frame member 6 to prevent depression of the trim strip 74. The shell 4 and the frame 6 are thus secured by means of the trim strip 65 and the trim strip to all outward appearances is a single trim strip and the -cover strip 74 serves to hide the joints effected by the stitching 63 and rivets such as 80 extending between the channel member 10 and the rim strip 23. This structure has greater strength than the conventional structures previously described. `It also provides the designer with considerably more flexibility in design, provides a cheaper method of construction and at the same time, gives the case a more pleasing appearance in that the provision of a single trim strip makes the case appear slimmer.

While specific preferred embodiments of my invention have been described in detail by way of illustration, it will be understood that variations in the specific structure and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A luggage case comprising a pair of opposed sections, each lof said sections comprising a moulded shell, a rigid lframe extending around the perimeter of said shell, and means for securing said frame to said shell around the perimeter thereof, said means comprising a trim strip member including an inwardly extending lateral flange and an outer upstanding bead portion, first fastening means securing said upstanding bead portion to an adjacent portion of said shell and an outer portion of said frame and second fastening means securing said flange portion to an adjacent portion of said frame.

2. A luggage case as claimed in claim 1 wherein said upstanding bead portion comprises a pair of spaced apart ridges dening a channel, said first fastening means extending into said channel.

3. A luggage case as claimed in claim 1 wherein said frame members are each provided with trim strip members mounted on their respective opposed edges, said trim strip members each having an outer recess, said upstanding bead portion having a recess on the inner side thereof and a cover strip extending between said trim strip member and said upstanding bead portion in engagement with said recesses thereof.

4. A luggage case comprising a pair of opposed sections, means hingedly connecting said sections together to swing between case open and case closed positions, each of said sections comprises a moulded shell secured to a rigid frame extending around the perimeter of said shell; said 'frames having trim strips at opposite edges thereof running around the outer faces of said frame and a covering material overlying said frames and extending between said trim strips; the confronting edges of said frames being provided with means adapted to intert when the case is closed, said means comprising a rigid channel member having a substantially continuously arcuate inner surface extending around the confronting edge of one of said frames at the inner side thereof and a tongue member extending around the confronting edge of the other of said frames at the inner side thereof and projecting laterally beyond the confronting edge of said latter frame, said tongue being adapted to intert in said channel and having a measure of compressiblity at least at the point of channel intert.

5. A luggage case comprising a pair of opposed sections, means hingedly connecting said sections together to swing between case open and case closed positions, each of said sections comprises a moulded shell secured to a rigid frame extending around the perimeter of said shell, the confronting edges of said frames being provided with means adapted to interiit when the case is closed, said means comprising a rigid channel member having a substantially continuously arcuate inner surface extending around the confronting edge of one of said frames at the inner side thereof and a tongue member extending around the confronting edge of the other of said frames at the inner side thereof and projecting latermentioned means comprising a trim strip member includ- 7 3 ally beyond the confronting edge of said latter frame, References Cited by the Examiner said tongue being adapted to intert in said channel and UNITED STATES PATENTS vuflg a Iatff cnprsilhty at leat at the poul; 909,630 1/1909 Marsrauer 19o-28 c1 (ffmc h1? ai ,mw mmeans 0 secu@ S 5 2,743,029 4/1956 Mautner 19o- 2s X mou ed s ells to t e1r respective frames, said ast 3,165,827 1/1965 Stouman 190 28 X ing an inwardly extending lateral flange and an outer FOREIGN PATENTS upstanding bead portion, rst fastening means securing 91276 5/1894 Great Entamsaid upstanding bead portion to an adjacent portion of 10 JOSEPH R'LECLAIR, Pfl-mm3, Examlne,. said shell and an outer portlon of said frame; and second FRANKLIN T GARRETT Examiner fastening means securing said flange portion to an adjacent portion 0f said frame D. F. NORTON, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A LUGGAGE CASE COMPRISING A PAIR OF OPPOSED SECTIONS, EACH OF SAID SECTIONS COMPRISING A MOULDED SHELL, A RIGID FRAME EXTENDING AROUND THE PERIMETER OF SAID SHELL, AND MEANS FOR SECURING SAID FRAME TO SAID SHELL AROUND THE PERIMETER THEREOF, SAID MEANS COMPRISING A TRIM STRIP MEMBER INCLUDING AN INWARDLY EXTENDING LATERAL FLANGE AND AN OUTER UPSTANDING BEAD PORTION, FIRST FASTENING MEANS SECURING SAID UPSTANDING BEAD PORTION TO AN ADJACENT PORTION OF SAID SHELL AND AN OUTER PORTION OF SAID FRAME AND SECOND FASTENING MEANS SECURING SAID FLANGE PORTION TO AN ADJACENT PORTION OF SAID FRAME. 